By: Kathy Hubbard
When I chose vasculitis as a subject for this space, little did I know that it is the overall term for roughly twenty relatively rare, autoimmune diseases. Hang on while I try to explain what it is, who is affected, and when one should seek medical attention.
Simply stated, vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels. Cleveland Clinic explains that “the swelling makes it hard for blood to flow through your affected vessels, which can cause organ and tissue damage.”
We know that blood vessels channel blood throughout our bodies. Arteries carry blood away from our hearts, veins carry blood back to our hearts and capillaries are the small blood vessels that connect the arteries and veins together.
Cleveland explains, “If you think about your circulatory system like a network of highways, capillaries are the on-ramps and exits that help your blood move along its route from your heart through your body and back. If you have vasculitis, your blood vessels swell and thicken. This makes it harder for blood to flow through them. Over time, the inflammation can damage your organs and cause serious complications.”
Any of your blood vessels can be affected, including those connected to your skin, lungs, heart, nerves, eyes, kidneys, brain, sinuses and stomach. The different diseases are classified by which blood vessels are predominately affected, i.e. small, medium, large or variable vessel diseases.
A sixteen-year-old named Alex wrote on the Vasculitis Foundation website, “The challenges I faced with vasculitis were plentiful. I woke up one day being unable to bend my knees without extreme pain, making it hard to walk. People would ask what was wrong with me as I was barely able to move between classes, but I did not know. And that was very awkward and difficult to explain.”
He said that his treatment was difficult but that he gained hope knowing he wasn’t alone. “Ashton Kutcher releasing the fact that he suffered from vasculitis was huge.”
In an article on Med Page Today Kutcher said, “I woke up one day and was having vision issues and could hardly see. It knocked out my hearing, which threw off my equilibrium, my balance, and I couldn’t walk.”
Vasculitis Foundation says, “Vasculitis can affect people of all ages, races, and ethnicities, although some forms may be more common among certain ages or ethnic groups. Vasculitis usually but not always, affects women and men in equal numbers.”
The Med Page article said that some people may have few symptoms while others have generalized or multiorgan symptoms and that the symptoms can develop suddenly or over days, weeks or months.
Symptoms vary from person to person. They vary due to which blood vessels, organs or tissues are affected. Generally, however, they include fatigue and weakness; fever; muscle and/or joint pain; lack of appetite and/or weight loss; rashes or skin lesions; eye pain and redness; blurred vision; chronic nasal, ear and/or sinus problems; shortness of breath; cough including coughing up blood; abdominal pain; severe headaches; nerve problems such as numbness, weakness and/or pain; bloody or dark-colored urine potentially indicating kidney problems.
Vasculitis Foundation notes that “a patient can have kidney disease without having symptoms; therefore, patients with vasculitis should have urine tests.”
If you have any of the above symptoms, don’t put off seeing your primary care provider. Diagnosis can be tricky, because symptoms can mimic other diseases.
“Depending on your symptoms and the type of vasculitis suspected, your doctor may order laboratory tests such as urinalysis and blood tests, imaging studies such as X-rays, CT or MRI scans or lung function tests. A biopsy of the affected tissue or organ is usually obtained to confirm diagnosis but is not always feasible. Biopsy is not always required to confirm the diagnosis before starting treatment, which shouldn’t be delayed,” Vasculitis Foundations says.
Treatment involves two phases. The first is to control the inflammation and achieve remission. The second is to prevent relapses. Typically, glucocorticoids (prednisone) are the first line of treatment because they reduce inflammation and are also immunosuppressive medications. Other medications and procedures, which I won’t bore you with, are utilized as well.
Vasculitis is not curable, but the remission statistics are extremely favorable. In need of a primary care provider? Call Bonner General Family Practice at 208-265-2221
Kathy Hubbard is a member of the Bonner General Health Foundation Advisory Council. She can be reached at kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com. This article was written for publication in the Bonner County Daily Bee on June 11, 2025.
